People power pushes back on Internet censorship

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU everyone who took action yesterday, and took a historic stand against Internet censorship. We're proud to have stood shoulder to shoulder with some of the world's biggest websites, and all of you, in opposing SOPA and PIPA -- the two pieces of legislation in the US designed to prevent copyright piracy on the web, but which would have granted corporations unprecedented powers to limit free expression.

It was an amazing day; PIPA, which had looked certain to become law, has now lost a quarter of its sponsors. At least 18 senators heard the roar of opposition and reversed their support for the bill in the course of the day.

This was an extraordinary show of force. But we came perilously close to the US government enacting a law that would not only have destroyed the Internet as we know it, but empowered corporations to silence criticism and switch off pressure for reform from people-powered groups like Greenpeace. And despite yesterday's advance, the threat has not gone away.

Just weeks ago, SOPA and PIPA had overwhelming bipartisan support. Hollywood spent an estimated $US 94 million lobbying for these bills. SOPA nearly went to a vote six months ago, and would have passed had it not been for a last minute hold from a lone senator who recognised its flaws and dangers. As Reddit Cofounder, Alexis Ohanian put it, the legislation was like a botched medical operation to cure piracy, where not a single one of the doctors who had been called in knew anything about how the human body worked or how to wield a scalpel.

Not only would the bill have failed its intended aims, it would have driven a massive economic shift away from an Internet structured around creativity, entrepreneurship, and free expression, toward an online police state, run by corporate mob bosses, in which everyone was presumed guilty.

Here's a great explication by Clay Shirky of some of the history behind these bills and what the music and movie industries were trying to do with SOPA/PIPA:

As our chief activist Kumi Naidoo pointed out, whatever noble intent these bills may have had -- and stopping real piracy is a noble intent -- the possibility for abuse by environmental criminals was staggering. Victories that we've won over the last few years against corporate Goliaths would have been impossible had SOPA/PIPA been isolating copyright claims from the scrutiny of courts and suffocating the ability of our online activists to share and spread their outrage, opposition, and action.

The Washington Post's Wonk Blog listed greenpeace.org as hosting one of the top 5 blackout pages. Ironically, it wasn't ours. The design was based on an HTML template created by Zachary Johnson and posted to Reddit in the public domain for anyone's use during the protest. It was a beautiful example of exactly the kind of open-source sharing and remixing that SOPA and PIPA would kill.

What did you do to stop SOPA while the Internet was dark yesterday?

What were your favorite artifacts of the protest? Let us know in the comments.

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(Unregistered) anotherperson
says:

There are People who think that SOPA should stand for Stop Offline Piracy Act, or Stop Overseas Piracy Act, and this in regards to Stopping Overseas T...

There are People who think that SOPA should stand for Stop Offline Piracy Act, or Stop Overseas Piracy Act, and this in regards to Stopping Overseas Tax Havens that even some American Politicians and their Donors use.

Furthermore, there are People who think that that PIPA should stand Preventing Individual’s Personally Achieving, and this has to do Government Corruption, Incompetence, and Unconstitutional Laws.

I watched an interesting Video that is Titled: MegaUpload Dangerous Secrets affect YOU, Mike Mozart JeepersMedia ACTA / PIPA / SOPA, and I watched it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXfzu_zBmKM , unless the Authorities change the Contents and Location of that Video in an attempt to try to discredit what I wrote.

The maker of that Video said that People have his permission to distribute the Video, and he seems honest enough that he would not change the Video, and then say that he never gave permission.

It is not a download, but it is on YouTube, and it looks safe, but I want to make your own decision, and I will not be uploading it, even though permission is granted by the maker of that Video who seems genuinely concerned with what is happening to America, where there is one Law and different punishment for the Rich, and another for the Rest of America’s Citizens.

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(Unregistered) anotherperson
says:

I watched another interesting Video made by JeepersMedia that is Titled: SOPA & PIPA - The truth!!! , and I watched it at http://www.youtube.com/w...

I watched another interesting Video made by JeepersMedia that is Titled: SOPA & PIPA - The truth!!! , and I watched it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa7Y55xd-EM&feature=related , unless the Authorities change the Contents and Location of that Video in an attempt to try to discredit what I wrote.

The maker of that Video said that People have his permission to distribute the Video, and it appears to be safe enough to do that in my opinion, but People should make their own decision on that.

My opinion is that this entire affair looks like a Deliberate Conspiracy to Monopolize the Internet by the Big Media and the Big Government as the final piece in the jigsaw puzzle needed by those who wish to make America a Dictatorship.

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(Unregistered) anotherperson
says:

SOPA stands for Stop Online Piracy Act, but would Congress want it to stand for Stop Offline Piracy Act, because the real Pirates in America have Tax ...

SOPA stands for Stop Online Piracy Act, but would Congress want it to stand for Stop Offline Piracy Act, because the real Pirates in America have Tax Havens overseas that even some American Politicians and their Donors use.

PIPA stands for Protect Intellectual Property Act, but it is just a Disguise and Euphemism for the real intent, which is to Perpetuate Injustices Properly in America.

EEA stands for Enemy Expatriation Act, but its real purpose is to Encourage Evil in America.

NDAA stands for National Defence Authorization Act, but it is just a Euphemism for No Democracy Allowed in America.

ACTA stands for Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Act, but it is just a Euphemism for Anti-Consumer Treason Applied.

TSA stands for Transportation Security Administration, but it is really Treason and Shame for America.

We all know that there will be Freeloaders, but a system can be devised where People who want to show their appreciation can voluntarily donate anonymously and safely.

Perhaps an account like a mobile phone recharge of no more than 50 dollars can be purchased at a newsagent or supermarket, and People can donate to the holders of copyright material.

The number of the account can be kept secret until after the sale of the account, where the nameless account number is printed with lots of small numbers, and Experts know how to keep these things anonymous.

It is just like purchasing overseas telephone time, where no one knows the details, except that money is being transferred.

I am sure that there are enough appreciative People there to pay for the owners of copyright material.

We should realize that ordinary People are safer because there is less burglary to steal movies and music, because some People are too poor to afford it, and some want it for free even if they can afford it.

Governments should realize that with less crime, there will need to be less demand on the Public Purse, and we have heard of the term Bread and Circuses.

I think that anyone who cannot make it on Voluntary donations for their copyright material should seek alternative employment.

We know that HR 1981 Protecting Children on the Internet sounds good in theory, but it requires that Internet Providers keep records on their clients for 18 months on every web site they visited.

I have seen many tricks on the Internet, and if thew Government does not like someone, then they can set them up.

The same can be true of a wife who wants a divorce; and there could be Lawyers and Politicians who know who can change the Internet Records, and that is not even discussing Hackers who would discover how to do that.

The wife and the Lawyers get more Money, and we do not know how this will affect the rights of the child as far as visiting rights by the father, the supposed purpose was to protect children.

We all know that different People would have different reasons, and the Corrupt Politicians would use it against an Honest Politician.

It could be that the Banksters and Plutocrats of America who are the real Lobbyists of all of this, and who do not care about the Environment, would use it to control their Politicians to benefit them, at the cost of the American Citizens.

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(Unregistered) Connie
says:

Brian; can't believe you're still with Greenpeace. Way to go. I am still fighting the good fight whenever I can. Ended my career as an Arch...

Brian; can't believe you're still with Greenpeace. Way to go. I am still fighting the good fight whenever I can. Ended my career as an Archaeologist a few years ago when arthritis took over. Now I work in a local library in Hurricane, Utah. Been married for 23 years! Hope you have had a good life. Connie